Conical vs. Flat Bottom Brewers - what's best for you?

When first getting into coffee we are often faced with an interesting decision - to buy a flat-bottomed brewer like a Kalita, or a cone-shaped brewer like the classic V60. For some, the choice is generally made based on which one is going to look best in our kitchen! But are there coffee quality implications to consider in the conical vs flat bed brewers showdown? Today we’re going to find out!

First, let’s just define the difference between the two types of brewer. A flat-bottomed brewer has a flat bottom (duh!?) which uses filters designed with a flat bottom. These brewers often have 2, 3 or multiple holes underneath where the water can drip through. A cone-shaped brewer has one hole in the bottom and is shaped like a cone (really groundbreaking definitions here 🤯), and the filter will have a “point” that sticks through the bottom of the filter. All the water will flow through this “point" in the conical brewer.

Is there a difference between flat bed vs. conical brewers?

For those of you who say “coffee is just coffee” (no one who reads The Brew Journal says that, right?) - the results might surprise you! The SCA together with the University of California Davis Coffee Center found a statistically significant difference between coffee brewed with a flat-bottomed brewer and a cone-shaped brewer! In fact, the difference was more perceptible than changing the grind size by 200 microns!

Specifically, the flat-bottom brewer was associated with flavour notes of dried fruit, sweet, and floral flavour intensities, while the cone-shaped brewer gave more flavours of citrus, berry, and sour notes. Surprising, huh?

Why the difference?

So why is there such a pronounced difference between a flat-bottomed brewer and a cone-shaped brewer? Well, as with everything in coffee, it’s complicated and we’re not going to be applying for the Nobel Prize anytime soon. However, the brewer's geometry affects how the water flows through the coffee. A flat bottom spreads out the coffee along the bottom of the brewer, so the “coffee puck” is wider and water flows through a wider surface area. A cone-shaped brewer concentrates the coffee to a single point, and all the water flows through this point. This affects how the water extracts the coffee, resulting in a different cup profile.

Important to remember

So there you have it! Flat-bottomed brews are more floral and sweet and cone-shaped brews are more berry and acidic… Not quite.

It’s important to remember some important facts about this test. Namely, the test was carried out in an electric filter brewer (i.e. one large pour, instead of multiple pours). It was also done using the same grind size for both brewing methods, with the only thing changed being the geometry of the brewer. In reality, we can greatly influence the flavour profile of a cup of coffee by changing grind size, number of pours, and even the pouring pattern.

So what do you think? Have you experienced a difference in flavour between a flat-bottomed and cone-shaped brewer at home? What’s your favourite brewer to use? If you’re interested, have a play with different brewer geometries and see if you can taste the difference!

— P.T.

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